After the slow pace of summer, September can be a shock to the system. If I had to sum up the autumn term in one word, it would be: busy. It’s easy to get distracted by building new routines, comparing holiday experiences and negotiating birthdays, Halloween and Christmas. As autumn gets underway, I can quickly become overwhelmed.  

Busyness can be a barrier to drawing near to others and God. How can we simplify this busy season, so that we focus on the few things that matter and remove some of the many distractions? A simple September, October, November and December … I’m not sure my imagination stretches that far! But Jesus invites us to walk into this season alongside him, learning to share his easy yoke – learning from his light way of living.  

There’s a story in Luke 10:38-42 that is strikingly simple and shows us three ways to keep discipling simple, especially when life feels full: 

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” 

 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

1. Come to Jesus when you're busy

Did you ever do a Mary-Martha personality test? I don’t think it’s a great way to approach this story, but I did one as a student and I came out as ‘a Mary’ – I’m rather reflective and passive by nature and sitting around contemplating God appeals to me much more than social action.

But, in reality, what Mary does is far from passive. It’s intentional. Actually it’s outrageous! According to Jewish tradition, sitting at the feet of a rabbi was something only disciples did, in order to become rabbis themselves. In this ancient culture, women were not allowed to be educated, let alone become educators of others. Disciples were male, almost without exception.

Mary defies expectations – she was needed in the kitchen and she didn’t belong in the living room, but she was wanted by Jesus there. Jesus affirms her as his disciple.

Mary knew that her position in life wasn’t dictated by her duties or others’ demands, but her discipleship to Jesus. So, she kept coming back to Jesus, to learn from him and, later, to weep with him and worship him.

But how can we sit at Jesus’ feet when there is so much that needs to be done?

One practical idea is to use idle moments to linger with God. My Dad told me about this idea and when I asked him how he remembers to do it, he said: ‘Reminders are all around! I see it rain and I thank God for pouring out his grace on me. I see a friend’s house and I pray for that person. It might be 10 seconds. I just use that moment to turn to God.’

2. Come to Jesus when you're overwhelmed

Let’s take a closer look at Martha now. These days I find it much easier to identify with her to be honest. Let’s read verse 40 again:

But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” 

Did you notice it right in the middle? When Martha is feeling overwhelmed, where does she turn?

Martha brings her worries and resentment to Jesus. She could have given Mary the evil eye from across the room and complained behind her back, but instead she comes directly to Jesus.

Interrupting the teacher with a personal kitchen complaint would have been almost as shocking as a woman sitting at Jesus’ feet. His response to both women is of course far more shocking still!

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (v 41-42)

Jesus doesn’t condemn Martha; he treats her as a disciple too. He gently exposes what is pulling her away from him. She is trying to ‘do it all’, perhaps in order to prove herself. Note in verse 40 the word ‘had’ – how often do you find the ‘have tos’ or ‘shoulds’ multiplying in your mind?

Jesus shows Martha that she doesn’t have to raise her game in the kitchen or put her sister down in the living room, in order for him to care about her.

In Martha’s mind, she has no choice but to carry a huge mental load on her own. Jesus reminds her that she does have a choice. She can choose to simplify things from the many to the few. And she can choose the one thing she really needs, from which everything else flows.

We can’t do it all. That will drive us to distraction! But we can do what the Holy Spirit is asking us to do today.  

One practical idea is to take a sheet of paper and write out all the many things you’re carrying in your mind. Ask God what are the few things that he wants you to focus on, or the few people. Talk with Jesus about what you need in order to make those things matter and what will distract you, or what can be made simpler to create space for those few things.

3. Come to Jesus with others

Let’s pick up with Martha a little later in her discipleship journey, in John 11.

Jesus has returned late and Lazarus has already died. It was the Jewish custom for families to stay at home for seven days of mourning and to receive visitors.  

Verse 20 says, ‘When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him.’ What a change! This time it is Martha who defies convention and leaves a house full of her guests to come to Jesus. And her tone is very different. 

“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask…I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” (v 21-22, 27) 

Martha has listened to Jesus and understood who he is. She knows that he came for her. Right after this poignant moment, look what Martha does:  

After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” (v 28) 

Gone is the petty rivalry. Martha is quick to bring Mary to their Teacher and Messiah.

I had a WhatsApp message last week from a friend whose baby has just started crawling – crawling fast! I think her message voices something that many of us (and those we’re alongside) can relate to. She said: 'I do find it hard to ask for help sometimes. I also feel like I should be managing on my own as everyone else seems to be getting on with it.' 

It is easy to compare and to feel like everybody else has it sorted – why can’t I just get my act together?! But God expects us to need Jesus every day and to need each other every day. He has put us alongside others for a reason. 

We can be honest with each other – this may involve laying down our reputation at Jesus’ feet and being prepared to show parts of ourselves we’re not proud of. It could open the floodgates for the other person to share honestly too. When Mary came to Jesus, she ‘fell at his feet’ and poured out her despair (v 32). Jesus wept with her.

We can bring each other to Jesus by listening, sharing, praying and weeping together. In effect we can say: ‘The Teacher is here and is asking for you.’ Not as a guilt trip, but the opposite: as an invitation to lay down our shame at his feet and listen – to each other and to God.

One practical idea is to start a prayer triplet. For the last 6 years, I’ve been part of a WhatsApp group with three other women from church. We’re able to message each other for prayer over the big and the small things – and over time we’ve become shockingly honest about our struggles.

You may have noticed that my three points are actually just one point – that’s because only one thing is really needed. Keep it simple… Come to Jesus when life is busy. Come to Jesus when you’re upset and worried. Come to Jesus with others.

Book recommendation: Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver 

This talk was given at a NavMums event - if you'd like to find out more about this ministry, click here.